S'more Bars

Since Zachary was going camping this past weekend, I asked him if they were going to make S'mores - because when I went camping when I was younger, s'mores were the biggest part of the weekend!  That is one of the biggest things I looked forward to when I went camping.

Zachary said they probably weren't going to be making any s'mores so I decided to make these s'more bars.  Thank you to my friends and Angela and Lauren who made them on girls weekend, I thought these would be the perfect late night snack for Zachary and his friends.  

Angela found the recipe on Pinterest and here it is below:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 super-sized (5 oz.) dark chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown and white sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up ad spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars

Makes 16 cookie bars.

Take a look below - it took all my will-power to not have a bite of these!

I want S'More!

xoxo Sarah

Ina Garten's Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

I can honestly say, this is probably the best and most beautiful batter I have ever baked with!  Also - I think Ina Garten (also known as the "Barefoot Contessa") is a genius and one day, I will own all her cookbooks!  If you have never been to her website - please go!  It's awesome: http://www.barefootcontessa.com/

Zachary went camping this past weekend for a Bachelor Party so I decided to make some treats for him to bring so they ate at least some breakfast instead of grilled burgers and brats all weekend!

I have made these before and every time I do, I still think these are the best muffins I have ever made.  Blueberries happen to be my favorite fruit as well - so that makes it an easy winner for "best muffin ever" in my book!  I am going to have to bring these back to WI one of these times as I found out this past weekend my sister, Kate, also enjoys my love for blueberry muffins!

Here is the recipe below - this recipe is also HERE on the foodnetwork.com where I got it from:

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean

Yeah for Blueberries!
xoxo Sarah

Rainbow Fruit Skewers

For a simple easy fun dessert or appetizer try out these fun fruit skewers!  These are GREAT for summer because of the awesome colors these bring out!

All you need are the following:
1) Strawberries
2) Oranges
3) Pineappple
4) Kiwi
5) Blueberries
6) 1 1/2 Cups Greek Yogurt
7) 1/4 Cup of Honey

Assemble your skewers and then mix the the yogurt and honey together and you are all set!

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs skinnytaste.com.  Click HERE if you want to see how it is done!

Yeah for Fruit for the Summer!
xoxo Sarah

Memorial Day!

All though it is a day late, happy memorial day to all those who have served or who are serving for our country - from my grandpas to my brother-in-law, Happy Memorial Day - thank you for all you day!

In our life, Memorial Day is the start of summer which means it is pool time!!!  Zachary and I are fish at heart - we love the pool!  Yesterday, we had Zachary's parents and sisters over to spend Memorial Day with us!  We had soo much food and awesome weather for the pool!

Zachary and his sisters in the pool soaking up the sun!   I love seeing how much fun they are having!

For snacks we had Nueske's (my personal favorite meat products ever) Summer Sausage, cheese curds, homemade French Onion Dip, and rainbow fruit skewers!  For dinner we had the original baked beans and BBQ pulled pork sandwiches - the perfect way to start the summer in my book!  

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day and start to the summer!

xoxo

Sarah

Tea of the Week!

Hello All and Happy 4-day Work Week!

New tea alert!!!

I got this tea over the weekend and IT IS AWESOME!  

I am officially in love with Raspberry tea!  I picked up this "Red Raspberry" caffeine free tea this weekend when I was up in Wisconsin!  

Click here if you would like to purchase it online - I got it at Sendik's in Mequon!

Even when I was making it this morning, Zachary said to me that he thought the tea smelled amazing!  And it does!  I recommend it definitely for a great refreshing summer hot tea to drink!  Especially in the mornings :)  

Have a great Tuesday everyone!  More posts will come about the past weekend and Memorial Day!

Happy Tea!

xoxo Sarah

Table for 1 on a Friday Night

So as Zachary travels off to his first Bachelor party of wedding season, I will be home tonight being creative and crafty, relaxing and having a glass of wine!

What do you do on a Friday night when you are by yourself?  I would love to know!

Tonight I am going to make myself a new pasta recipe from my Mother-In-Law and hopefully indulging in a dark chocolate peanut butter cupcake with a glass of wine!  I might give myself a mani-pedi while I'm at it!

What are your thoughts?  What would you do with free time on your hands?  Would you clean?  Read a book?  Watch a girly movie?

At the Signature room enjoying a martini - wouldn't that be a fun "Table for 1" night!

I want to know your thoughts!
xoxo Sarah

Library Time!

Hey Everyone!

So in the past two weeks, I have finished the Bridal Quartet series by Nora Roberts.

Four Books:
1) Vision in White
2) Bed of Roses
3) Savor the Moment
4) Happy Ever After


It took me two days to read each book.  I LOVED THEM ALL!!!

I would recommend this series to whomever loves some good, sappy, girly, romance books!  I was voted "Hopeless Romantic" by my senior class in high school (still don't know if that was good or bad or not lol), but you had to know I was going to love these books.  It's a story that is put into 4 novels about 4 best friends who live together and run a wedding business together.  One is the photographer, one is the florist, one is the baker, and one is the planner.  I just loved them all!  I cried with each one of theme - especially on the last one - but don't worry - they were happy tears!  Thank you Angela P and Lo for the awesome recommendation - you both know me too well!

Now I am onto The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, another recommendation from Girl's Weekend 2012.  It's about how to live your life happily, recognize what makes you happy, and what doesn't and working on the things that do make you happy.  It's a story about the author's life through her Happiness Project.  It is a NY Times bestseller - and I have heard about it before Girl's Weekend but never had the chance to read it!  I'm excited for the challenge!

Keep Reading!
xoxo Sarah

A Little Sangria Will Make the Heart Grow Fonder

Hello All!

Happy Thursday!

So this past Saturday, after our wonderful gardening extravaganza, Zachary took me on a date.  Yes, even though we are married, we feel dates are still very important.  Every day is a date for me with how Zachary cooks homemade dinners every evening - I know I need to post more of those pics!

So anywho, Zachary and I went to Tango in Naperville to enjoy their roof top patio - as it was perfect and 80-90 degrees out all weekend!  Even though it took A WHILE for us to be seated - we were in good company with each other and enjoyed ourselves. 

One of the things that kept us company while we were waiting to be seated was an amazing pitcher of fresh Sangria!  I don't know how they did it, but they made the entire pitcher right in front of us.  I just had to snap a picture of it with my BlackBerry.  Take a look below -wooden stick and everything!

Red Wine Sangria from Tango

When we finally got seated, we ordered a scallop tapa and beef carpaccio tapa, followed by steaks!  Zachary got the world's longest skirt steak!  The food was delicious!

Just thought I'd share about this great little find!

xoxo Sarah

DIY Clothes Pin Magnets

Ok DIY Project #2:  Clothes pin magnets!

When I was at Michael's craft store this past weekend, I went to check out the dollar section there - I love their dollar section - and I came across the cutest clothes pins!  They were 4 for $1 so I had to try them out!

Two different sets up clothes pins I picked up - one green and one blue/white!

I thought what fun to bring a little chic to the fridge and help me keep organized!  For all the weddings we have this summer and this fall, we are getting shower invites, wedding invites, rehearsal invites and everything else in between.  So an easy way I thought to stay organized would give each wedding it's own clothes pin!  

I bought some magnet and took some hot glue (even though there were stickers on the back of the magnets), and I cut the magnet to the size of the back of the clothes pins.  See below:

Back of clothes pins.

This project worked  wonders!  Now I am all organized with my fridge!  Take a look at one of the weddings I clipped to the clothes pins:

This is the wedding for our friends Jeff and Melissa - now I know where to go when I need any information about  their wedding!

Seriously - these are super cheap and easy to make!  You could buy regular clothes pins too and paint any design you want on them!

Have fun making these!  I did!
xoxo Sarah

Homemade Wine Cork Garden Markers

Ok so maybe it was the planting and the thought of summer and time spent outside that made me feel like a DIY (Do It Yourself) project weekend!  I did several little clever things that I am really excited to share about and also one big project I will be working on for a week - but that's for a later post!

My first DIY project came from wanting to spruce up our little garden we have on our balcony.  I wanted to make some clever garden markers.  I wanted to make sure I could tell all the herbs apart - and I definitely needed to tell our pepper plants apart from each other because the baby plants all look alike!

As I was researching what to do, I saw several sites had these easy, fun and sophisticated garden markers using wine corks.  All I needed were wine corks, thin wooden dowels, a permanent marker and a drill!  It's easy as pie.  Just take a wine cork and drill half way up the wine cork.  Match the drill bit with the size of the dowel.  Write the name of the plant on the wine cork and you are set!!  They add such a little fun addition to the garden we have!

Take a look below at what I did for ours!

Basil Wine Cork Garden Marker

Look at the wine corks in "Zach's Patch!"

Yeah for DIY Projects!
xoxo Sarah

Our Green Thumb

This past weekend, Zachary and I spent a lot of time getting our little garden together full of  wonderful herbs and plants like basil, oregano, thyme, mint, tomatoes, peppers, as well as other goodies!

Zach's dad built us a planter last year, called "Zach's Patch," that we are able to keep on our patio and able to grow a lot of great things!

We also got some flowers for our balcony flower hangers but I don't have pictures of those.  Take a look below at Zachary and my wonderful weekend of gardening!

See all the different herbs in there?  Can't wait to use them for some great meals!  

Our "garden gnome" named Frasier with his turtle dancing friend Shelly!

Happy Gardening!
xoxo Sarah

Here Comes the Bride!

And so wedding season festivities begin!  Two weekends ago I had my good friend Morgan's bridal shower.  And what a beautiful shower it was.  Take a look below:

Delicious boston lettuce salad with shrimp, kielbasa, avocado, onion, oranges, grapefruit, and macadamia nuts.   Topped off with a delicious vinaigrette.

Gorgeous centerpieces on the tables for the luncheon!

The beautiful bride and her lovely Kate Spade...look at that beaming smile!  So Happy!

Congrats to both Morgan and Conor!  Love you both!

xoxo Sarah

Mother's Day!

Ok yes - yes - yes I know this is a little delayed!  But - better late than never right?!

My mother deserves the world.  If I could - I would hand it to her on a silver platter.  I hope she knows that every day.

So!  For Mother's Day I decided to go up to WI to visit my mom on the Saturday before so we could go out to dinner and a movie!  Although we didn't make it to the movie, we did go to one of our local favorite family-owned restaurants, Ferrantes, for dinner!  It was very nice I was able to spend this time with her!

My mother deserves the world.  If I could - I would hand it to her on a silver platter.  I hope she knows that every day.

What were you able to do for Mother's Day?  did you get to see your mom, grandmas, or godmothers?

I love you Mom,
xoxo Sarah

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Hello All!

So I have been seeing Hummingbird Cake on food blogs for the past few weeks - I told myself - I just have to try these!  So I saw a recipe on skinnytaste.com which I thought looked delicious, light, and healthier than a normal cupcake!

A Hummingbird Cake, to give you a little background, is a famous southern style cake.  Similar to a carrot cake - but without the carrot!  It has pecans, pineapples, banana and spices in it that add up to the flavor and texture of a carrot cake - topped with a cream cheese frosting!

Click HERE for the recipe!

This is how they turned out - don't you think the floral cupcake holders are great?!?!  I found those at one of my fav craft stores - Hobby Lobby!

Happy southern cooking!
xoxo Sarah

Highlighted in Yellow

So one of my all time most favorite feel good books has to be Highlighted in Yellow: A Short Course in Living Wisely and Choosing Well.  My copy is so over used and book marked - see below!

I got this a long time ago when it first came out.  I have read it back and forth numerous times because it always makes me less anxious and helps me realize to appreciate life when sometimes I take it for granted.

My favorite rule from this book is in the "Simple Pleasures" section.  Rule #37 says "Regardless of your age, occasionally stop at a public playground and ride on the swings."  When you see a park and pass a swing set, why not take 5 minutes out of your day just to sit on a swing and pump those legs and fly (man - that's another things I could add to my little list of little things I forget to appreciate more often)!  But this is book is just a great uplifting book of quotes and rules to live by to live wisely and choose well in your life!

"It is a happy talent to know how to play." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Quote taken from Highlighted in Yellow.)

xoxo Sarah

Tea of the Week!

After a one week hiatus, Tea of the Week is back!

Being a tea fanatic as I am, I have to tell you how lucky I am that my office is above an Argo Tea.  Now the majority of individuals probably don't know what Argo Tea is - but it is like the Starbucks of Tea.  Argo Tea happens to have my favorite tea drink of all time which is known as a "Red Velvet Tea" - but I like drinking that in the fall and winter months.  So I will post about that drink then!

Currently, their seasonal tea is Jasmine Tea.  Now yes, their jasmine tea has some caffeine in it and I am not a caffeine drinker - but this has low caffeine so I am ok with it.  Some green teas I still drink have low caffeine in them as well but like I said this is in no comparison to a coffee or a soda with caffeine - this is the bare minimum.

This tea is sweet and refreshing and I like it over ice - especially now that the warmer months are coming!  Right now, Argo Tea has a special drink with the Jasmine Tea called "Jasmine TeaMosa"- let me just say, this is delicious!  Just the perfect combination on a hot day - Jasmine tea, Orange juice and sparkling water!
Click Here to take a look!

If you get the chance to try Argo Tea - go for this drink right now - it's delicious :)

Relax, sit back, and enjoy a cup of tea today!
xoxo Sarah

Post Script: Can't wait to post about a Skinny Green Tea Mojito recipe I saw this past week!!!  I am going to try and make that sometime this weekend!

Black Bean Soup with Avacado Salsa

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I was able to visit my mom Saturday night after wedding season began for Zachary and I - the first of 3 that we are in.  I had my friend Morgan's bridal shower on Saturday.  It was a BEAUTIFUL Luncheon - more pics on that soon as well as Mother's Day.

But first, yesterday for lunch, I saw this recipe on Food & Wine's website, I said to myself - I have to try this!

It was delicious.  So easy to make too!

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups drained and rinsed canned black beans (three 19-ounce cans)
4 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 avocados, preferably Hass, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
6 radishes, halved and sliced thin
2 tablespoons lime juice

1. DIRECTIONS: 
2. 1. Combine 3 cups of the beans and 1 cup of chicken broth in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
3. 2. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onion and 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat, add the sherry, and boil until reduced to approximately 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes.
4. 3. Add the bean puree, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, and the remaining 3 cups of chicken broth and 3 cups of beans. Simmer until hot, about 5 minutes.
5. 4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the avocados, cilantro, radishes, lime juice, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Mix gently. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with the salsa.
6. 
   

***Note:  I let the soup simmer for more than five minutes to bring down the water level.  Just a little hint so it thickens up more!

The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is delicious.  If you would like to see it on the "Food & Wine" website, click HERE.

Enjoy!!

xoxo Sarah

Library Time!

Hello All!!!

I just have to gush about the last two books I have read!  They were wonderful reads!!!!

First off, I finished The House I Loved by Tatiana De Rosnay.  I finished it in like 3 days!  It was so good.  At first it is a little hard to get started because of the French dictation in it.  But!  you keep reading and reading and reading and get engulfed in this wonderful book.  I can't give any clues away but you have to read it TO THE END!  I promise you won't be disappointed. ( Just to recap:  This is the book about the Parisian widow writing her deceased husband a letter about all the modernization changes going on in Paris in the mid/late 1800s).

Second book, I just finished last night.  I am going though Downton Abbey withdrawal and this was the perfect book to get me back into the swing of British Aristocracy!  Wow was this book wonderful!!!!  The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin is a wonderful book about a wealthy American heiress who marries a Duke in Lulworth, England.  And the story begins!!!  So much scandal and romance and curiosity and mystery behind it all.  This is book a little longer but my oh my does it fly once you get into it!  I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good scandalous story!!!  I literally gasped at the end of it - ask Zachary he was right next to me!  So good!

Now onto the Bridal Quartet series by Nora Roberts!!!!  Wish me luck!

Keep Reading!

xoxo Sarah

Enjoying the little things...

Today, I want to reflect about the little things in life I.  As Mother's Day is approaching I keep thinking about my mom and all the little things she has done for me that I probably took for granted for when I was younger, but now are huge parts of my life.  In general,  I feel like we probably all have taken the little things for granted without knowing. Let's look back in time and put together a list of the little things we might have taken for granted.  Here is mine:

1) My Mom... doing my laundry, cleaning, cooking, shopping and doing all that for my sister and I.  Yeah enough said.

2) My Husband. For his cooking and working every day and for loving me - I know I take that for granted.

3) My Sister. For always wanting to play with me when there were no other friends to play with.  She has always been my constant best friend.

4) Naps.  Yes, a nap.  Who knew at the age of 3 or 4 a nap would be such an annoyance and burden to us, yet 20 some years later, it would be a blessing if we get the chance to just close our eyes for 5 minutes a day to just rest them. I know for a fact - I took naps for granted.

5) Baths.  When I was younger, I took baths before I took showers on my own.  Man oh man, I have just started taking bubble baths again and boy do they feel great - with aroma therapy lavender salts and homemade sugar scrubs!  Showers we rush straight through sometimes, and baths are just nice to just let your body rest in.

6) Hula Hoops.  This past weekend, for Clare's birthday, she got a hula hoop.  I tried to do it - and failed miserably but I was really good at it when I was younger.  I miss hula-hooping.

7) Night-games.  The majority of my childhood consisted of summers planning with 30 plus neighborhood kids in what consisted of a flurry of night-games - Headless Horseman, Ghost in the Graveyard, Truth or Dare, Soccer, Capture the Flag...I miss those nights.  They are a very dear memory I have that will live forever in me - and I hope one day when Zachary and I have a family, we too can have our children experience these same memories of intense laughing and fun.

8) My Mom... doing my laundry, cleaning, cooking, shopping and doing all that for my sister and I.  Yeah enough said.

9) Skip-it.  You know you loved it when you were a kid too!

10) Nick Jr. and TGIF.  The classics: Hey Dude, Salute Your Shorts, Family Matters, Full House, Boy Meets World.

11) Hugs.  Just getting a hug a day I know I am taking for granted.

This is just a short list of all the little things I need to enjoy more of.

SOURCE: HERE

What little thing in life do you take for granted?  Think about it!
xoxo Sarah

I'll Have Another...

Yesterday in the trifecta of fun in my life, was also the Kentucky Derby!  I just had to bring my fascinator to the party to wear!  Take a look!  Let me know your thoughts!  I wish I sometimes were the Duchess of Cambridge so I could wear wonderful hats like this everyday!

After we drew numbers for the horses that we were routing for, Zachary made from scratch some amazing Mint Julep!  Take a look below as I was having my fresh (and strong) Mint Julep!

The hat is supposed to go on the side but I just put it on really quickly so it doesn't look like it supposed to exactly.  It is so pretty though!  I can't wait to wear it to weddings this summer!!!

This is where I got the fascinator from in Geneva: http://www.littletraveler.com/

xoxo Sarah

Skinny Shrimp Salsa

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday at our family festivities, I was to make an appetizer.  I saw this recipe on skinnytaste.com and thought it looked AWESOME!!!!  So I jsut had to try it.

It turned out to be absolutely delicious and refreshing!  The recipe was so easy too!

Here it is:
Ingredients:
16 oz cooked and peeled shrimp, diced fine
4 vine ripe tomatoes, diced fine
6 Tbsp red onion, finely diced
3 Tbsp jalapenos, diced fine (more or less to taste)
2 Tbsp minced cilantro
2 limes, juice of (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions:
Combine diced onions, tomatoes, salt and lime juice in a non-reactive bowl and let it sit about 5 minutes. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, taste for salt and adjust as needed. Refrigerate and let the flavors combine at least an hour before serving.

A couple things to note: The longer it sits the better it is!  I also used roma tomatoes instead of vine tomatoes.  I used Blue Corn Tortilla chips as well.  You could  also use black bean chips to make it gluten-free.  On the blog post from Skinny Taste, she uses black bean chips.  Take a look here!


Enjoy!
xoxo Sarah

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Happy Cinco De Mayo Everyone!

Today is a big day!!! So many things happening!  First, it's Cinco De Mayo, Second it's my sister-in-law Clare's 7th birthday, and Thirdly, It's the Kentucky Derby!

So today we have a lot of fun activities planned!  I'm making a DELICIOUS shrimp skinny salsa and we are having some great food and fun today!  I plan on bringing my fascinator to the party so I can wear it for the Kentucky Derby!  Just wait until you see it!!! I'm a Duchess Catherine wannabe!

But back to Cinco de Mayo!  Thursday night, Zachary and I had a little Cinco De Mayo food day ourselves!  I was having a Cinco De Mayo pot-luck at work, so I asked Zachary to make his delicious beans that is a secret family recipe that his Tata (great-grandfather) passed down from generation to generation!  The picture doesn't do them justice but just take a look!

Don't worry - we didn't eat all of that!  That was for my office as well!!  But with the beans we had skirt steak tacos, a little avocado and some lime!

Sorry I don't have a pic of the finished product but I promise you, it was delicious!

Happy Cinco De Mayo Everyone!  Enjoy the fiestas and food!  Let me know what you had or are having today!!!

xoxo Sarah

Tea of the Week!

So instead of using my favorite tea of the week this week, I want to share with you my favorite tea time snack! I love love love Nutella!  One of my favorite snacks that I have with tea is a little wheat bread with Nutella on top - especially with my "Well Rested" tea from Trader Joe's before I go to bed when I read at night or watch Fraiser!  Zachary usually splits it with me as I can usually only eat half a piece of toast but it is so sweet and savory I love it!  I always have a little jar stashed away!

What is your favorite snack to have when you have a cup of tea?  Do you like some fruit or crackers or some short bread cookies??  Let me know your thoughts!

Happy Nutella!

xoxo Sarah

Chicken Florentine Pasta

Last night for dinner, I decided to try out my first Pioneer Woman recipe.  Man can that woman cook!  I have her blog/website linked to mine if you ever want to see what she is up to.  She has her own television show now on The Food Network and I highly recommend you watch it if you can!

Anywho,  I made a pasta dish she has a recipe for called Chicken Florentine Pasta.  All it is is pasta, chicken, spinach, tomatoes, a little garlic, a little white wine and tada!!!  Instead of penne, I used bow tie pasta!  I probably could have used half a pound instead of a full pound because the farfalle, aka bow tie, pasta expands quite a bit compared to penne.

Add some fresh parm on top and bread on the side and you have our finished product!

Click HERE if you would like the recipe - super super easy recipe!  And super healthy - a whole bag of spinach!

Great pasta - great dinner!
xoxo Sarah